Summer is approaching and as every mother knows, kids seem to suddenly triple the amount of food they eat. It never ceases to astound me just how much food my children can eat in one day. The biggest problem I have is making sure they’re eating well, and they aren’t just eating to eat. Ensuring your kids are eating good food is difficult in the summer. Having a good idea of how you want summer to go is a good start. All my children are dancers and are incredibly active, so I want to make sure that the majority of their caloric intake is healthy, so they can keep up their energy levels and build muscle. That’s not to say they can’t have that corn dog if we go to the fair, but I need to make sure that what I feed them is better than what they’ll get elsewhere. Even though it takes work and I’m tired, it helps to be prepared for lunch ideas.
Whole Wheat Pancakes with a side of fruit
While technically a breakfast food, what kid doesn’t love the excitement of eating breakfast for lunch?
Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 Tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 ¼ cups buttermilk*
2 eggs
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil**
Directions
1. Whisk whole wheat flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Whisk buttermilk, eggs, and oil in a separate bowl. Pour buttermilk mixture into dry ingredients. Stir just until combined (batter may seem thick and there may be lumps but over mixing pancake batter makes for unpleasant pancakes).
2.Heat a greased skillet over medium-low heat. Pour 1/3 cup of batter onto hot skillet. Cook until browned an
d bubbles appear on top, approx. 1 ½ to 2 minutes.
\\3. Flip and cook until browned and set in the middle, about 2 more minutes. Repeat with remaining batter.
*If you don’t have buttermilk, add 2 Tablespoons vinegar to measuring cup then add milk until it reads 2 ¼ cups
**Coconut oil is a good substitute for vegetable oil
As for the fruit, anything you have on hand is a delicious side to pancakes! I love making fruit salads with any of the fruits I have found at farmer’s markets or the grocery store and serving a big bowl of fruit salad to go with these pancakes.
Chicken Ranch Taco Salad
This recipe comes from a church cookbook and a dear friend of mine, Karen Morgan. It’s a quick meal (especially if the chicken has already been cooked) and the family loves it! Though it calls for low-fat and fat free ingredients, feel free to substitute your own.
Ingredients
8 ounces cooked chicken breast, diced
3 cups shredded lettuce
3 ounces shredded low-fat cheddar cheese
1 cup fat free ranch dressing
¾ cup chunky salsa
Tortilla chips (optional)
Directions
1. In a large bowl, combine chicken, lettuce, and cheddar cheese.
2. In a medium bowl, combine ranch dressing and salsa.
3. Add dressing mix to chicken mix. Mix well to combine.
4. Stir in tortilla chips if desired.
If you’ve precooked the chicken, this meal can come together in no time and fill hungry bellies fast. Although the original recipe is amazing, this is one of those recipes that’s fun to play around with. You can try different dressings or add more ingredients (black olives are a favorite addition in my house). I also love this recipe because it’s so easy for my kids to help make it.
Dining Table Buffet
This is something I did as a last resort when I was pregnant with my third. I was tired, it was hot, and my older kids were “starving.” I went in the fridge, pulled out what we had, and laid it out for them to pick and choose what they wanted. They loved it and it is still my go-to on a busy, hot summer day.
Ingredients
Variety of veggies
Variety of fruits
Variety of cheeses or meats
Variety of crackers
Directions
1. Open containers
2. Put containers on the table
3. Let the kids eat what they want!
This is a picnic-y meal because the kids have the control, much like at a picnic or outdoor summer gathering. They take a little of this, a little of that, some of that thing over there, and their plate is full.
Make Their Own
When my oldest was just starting school, I found a wonderful print-out that gave kids certain options to choose how their lunch was going to look. Since I could never guarantee what foods we had in the house on a given week, I would write it out Sunday night and then she could choose how her lunch would end up.
I’ll admit it only lasted about a month, but I do like to bring it back occasionally, during the summer. Though like the table buffet, this has a much more personalized touch. I joke with the kids that on this day, I’m their short order cook.
Eating Out for Lunch
Although not a traditional lunch idea or recipe, when time permits, I suggest taking your kids to a new restaurant. Summer is the best time to do this, free of the constraints of extracurricular activities and homework. Growing up, my family had a tradition to try a different ethnic restaurant every month. It was so fun trying new things. Our family only had one rule: whatever we ordered, we had to eat. These family outings gave my siblings and I the ability to eat anything. When I was in Iraq,
my unit had the pleasure of being invited to eat at an Iraqi Army dining facility. Naturally, the food was local cuisine. Some of my counterparts had difficulty eating the hummus (best hummus of my life, by the way), refused to touch the goat in a spicy red sauce, and there was little attempt to drink the after-meal tea. I probably had five or six helpings that day! I called my mom the next chance I got and thanked her for introducing us to foods from cultures that were not our own. Branching out and giving children the opportunity to see things they don’t normally see helps them grow.
“Healthy, solid lunches don’t have to end just because the school year did.”
Feeding kids during the summer seems like a 24-hour task. Planning, even mentally, for what is going to be served for lunch can be a huge stress reducer. Only you know your kids and their eating habits, but healthy, solid lunches don’t have to end just because the school year did. Kids are much more active in the summer and need to fuel their imagination, creativity, and play. Full tummies make for happy kids.
